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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28330266">Family Christmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Living_Underground/pseuds/Living_Underground'>Living_Underground</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The X-Files</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And a shit tonne of original characters, Christmas, Christmas celebrations 2018 (I think?), F/M, Like /seriously/, M/M, any episode in which her family is involved just shows you how screwed up they all are, apart from maybe Melissa. And even then..., because the Scully family is SERIOUSLY dysfunctional, but I think he really does love his sister even if he doesn't know how to show that, its fluffy, none of them are innocent, pregnant scully, set after season 11, the whole scully clan gather at the unremarkable house, with some Bill angst, yeah she's preggers what of it</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 18:09:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>10,290</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28330266</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Living_Underground/pseuds/Living_Underground</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Scully and Mulder invite her brothers' families over to spend the holidays with them in the unremarkable house.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dana Scully &amp; Charlie Scully, Dana Scully &amp; William "Bill" Scully Jr., Fox Mulder/Dana Scully, Tara Scully/William "Bill" Scully Jr.</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>48</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I was hoping to finish this earlier today before my brother came over (we go into tier 4 lockdown and we wanted to spend some time with him beforehand (I know, guys, I know, but he's still living with our mother and...essentially seeing him is just so I can make sure he's doing okay over there because I worry about the kid. I mean, he's not a kid and he can handle the situation himself. But I still worry.) because we probably won't be seeing him for a while now.) but then I took a nap and by the time I woke up he was like five minutes away and there was no point in starting. And then we were up late playing Uno and Cards Against Humanity. </p><p>So it's late. But it's still the Christmas season, so...</p><p>Anyway, Happy Holidays to everyone who's celebrating and happy...un-holidays(?)/end of the year(?) (yay no more 2020) to those who don't. Love and hugs to everyone. Stay safe guys.</p><p>This isn't perfect, and it's more vignettes of their holidays than anything mostly. Also sorry about all the OCs. If anyone wants I can draw up a family tree with ages of all the kids.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘I can’t see you. Your camera’s off.’</p><p>‘Yeah, I know, just give us a second,’ a pause and the screen flickered to life, bringing with it an image of her little brother and his husband, ‘there, happy now?’</p><p>‘Yes. How are you?’</p><p>‘Oh, not so bad. Dana, you’ve put on weight.’</p><p>‘Piss off, Dickhead. It’s called getting older. You should try it sometime, Mr. Never-found-a-grey-hair-in-my-life.’</p><p>‘Well, Darling, I think you look as gorgeous as ever.’</p><p>‘Dan,’ a warm smile graced her face as she appraised her brother-in-law, ‘the only opinion that matters.’</p><p>A harmony or ‘hey!’s, one from her end and one from theirs, had Dan and Scully snorting their laughter.</p><p>‘Where is Mulder?’</p><p>‘I’m here!’ he called, slumping down on the couch next to Scully, ‘hey, guys.’</p><p>‘Mulderino! Looking as handsome as ever!’</p><p>‘You’re such an asshole, Charlie,’ Scully growled at him, narrowing her eyes and sticking her tongue out. Fifty-three she may be, but she could still bicker with her baby brother like they were teenagers.</p><p>‘You kiss Mulder with that mouth?’</p><p>‘Oh, I do so much more than kiss him with it.’</p><p>Dan cackled as Charlie mimed puking off-screen, ‘where’s she been keeping you, Man?’</p><p>‘Chained up in the basement.’</p><p>‘Ooh, kinky.’</p><p>Charlie sobered slightly, ‘we missed you at Thanksgiving.’</p><p>Scully grimaced, ‘yeah. We’re sorry about that. But, to make up for it, how about you come over to ours for Christmas? Bring all the kids, stay for New Years' and everything.’</p><p>‘Well…’ the couple on the screen exchanged a glance, ‘Bill’s back stateside for the holidays. We’d kind of arranged to have him, Tara, and the boys over. We were wondering if you wanted to join us – I know you and Bill don’t get on. He’s a prick, after all, but he <em>is</em> our brother.’</p><p>Scully stole a glance at Mulder, his face tilted towards hers. He shrugged. They’d discussed already that they wouldn’t tell anyone about the pregnancy, not until she was much further along. And she was hesitant to fly, which is why they had wanted to host Christmas. ‘Invite Bill and his family too, then. He and Tara can have the office, you two can have the spare room and we’ll have all the kids in the living room. We’ve got spare airbeds and a couple spare mattresses. There should be enough for everyone.’</p><p>‘Are you sure?’ Charlie looked skeptical, ‘we don’t want to burden you with all our rabble.’</p><p>‘Please,’ she grinned, ‘burden away. I love your rabble more than anything. And, I still haven’t gotten to meet my youngest niece. Where is she, anyway?’</p><p>‘Naptime. Still got another hour until Callie and Austin get back from school. I’m not sure Aurelia will make it to Christmas, she’s slammed with her Ph.D. Wasn’t planning on joining us, though she’s closer to you guys than she is to us, so she might find it easier to get there. But if she does, she might bring the boyfriend.’</p><p>‘How is said boyfriend?’</p><p>‘Still going strong. She hasn’t broken his heart yet,’ Dan grinned, ‘give her time though.’</p><p>‘How long have they been together now?’ Mulder asked, shifting closer to Scully to see the screen clearer.</p><p>‘Uh, three years? Three years I think.’</p><p>‘Yeah, something like that,’ Charlie agreed with his husband, ‘Which means you’ll have ten kids in the house if she brings him. Are you still sure you want all of us?’</p><p>‘Yes. Yes, we do. It’s Christmas. I want us all to be together as a family.’</p><p>‘Even Bill?’</p><p>‘Even Bill,’ a timer went off in the kitchen and Mulder looked over his shoulder.</p><p>‘Flapjack’s ready. I’ll go sort it. Bye, guys,’ he raised a hand to them and they both waved back.</p><p>Charlie lowered his voice and leaned closer to the camera as Mulder’s form was seen walking over to the kitchen. ‘So are you two back together for good, or…?’</p><p>‘Yes. For good,’ not wanting to dwell, she changed the subject quickly, ‘ask Bill about Christmas here instead. If you want help with plane tickets for all of you, we can sort something.’</p><p>‘I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Do you want us to fly in on Christmas Eve?’</p><p>‘Of course.’</p><p>‘Fabulous. We’ll try and convince Bill it’s a good idea.’</p><p>‘Suggest a white Christmas to Tara – she’ll convince him in a microsecond then. What do all the kids want for Christmas?’</p><p>‘God knows!’ Dan cried, shaking his head. ‘I have absolutely no idea.’</p><p>Charlie laughed, kissing his husband’s cheek, ‘I’ll send you a list, Dana. Emira and Callie are pretty easy. Austin and Ibraheem will probably be good with video games, though I’d best check which ones first. Kody and Lia are harder to shop for, though Kody’s pretty happy with anything book-related-‘</p><p>‘Lia mentioned wanting some cushions for her couch.’</p><p>‘Oh, that’s right. I’ll send you a link to some of the cushions she was looking at.’</p><p>‘Send a photo of the couch too, so Dana knows what to match them with.’</p><p>‘Well obviously. I’m not an animal. God!’ Charlie rolled his eyes and shook his head, ‘I’ll try and get a list off of Tara for their boys, too. No point asking Bill.’</p><p>‘No. Right, I’d better love you and leave you, I have work to do. Let me know if there are any problems booking things or convincing Bill.’</p><p>‘Will do. Love you, Danes.’</p><p>‘Love you both too. We’ll see you in a couple of weeks, fingers crossed,’ she waved, hung up the Skype call, and slouched back on the sofa. Mulder wandered back through, tea towel slung over his shoulder and dropped a kiss to the top of her head. ‘Charlie’s going to know the minute he sees me.’</p><p>‘You’ll be four months by then. Everyone will know.’</p><p>‘Except for maybe Bill. Bill’s oblivious to everything he doesn’t want to see.’</p><p>He chuckled, placing a hand on her shoulder and rubbing slightly, easing away some of the tension there, ‘well, at least there’s that. Flapjack’s just cooling.’</p><p>‘Mmm,’ her hand reached up to squeeze his, ‘you’re my hero.’</p><p>‘I know. I even added extra cranberries.’</p><p>‘Uhghh. You spoil me.’</p><p>‘There’s nothing else to do with you. Come on,’ he tugged at her hand, ‘we’ve got half an hour until it’s cool enough that you won’t burn your mouth. Let me spoil you a little more before then. Make use of this blessedly empty house that we’ve got all to ourselves for two more weeks before the hordes arrive.’</p><p>‘Hmmm, I like the sound of that.’</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>‘Auntie Dana!’ Callie, at ten years old, called out as she dashed out of the minivan that held her brother’s family. The second youngest of Charlie’s six adopted children darted up the steps, her arms instantly around Scully’s waist, eyes growing wide as she gasped, fingers that used to be able to clasp behind her aunt’s back no longer able to reach quite as far.</p><p>Scully winked, ‘shh, don’t tell Dad and Daddy yet. They don’t know.’</p><p>Ibraheem, 19, and Austin, 15, made their way slightly slower up to the porch, high fiving Mulder and elbowing one another, already cracking jokes with their uncle. And then came Charlie and Dan, and little Emira clinging to her blanket and snuffling her way into Dan’s shoulder.</p><p>‘Aurelia and Ben are driving down, picking up Kody from the airport on their way – he couldn’t get a flight in landing around the same time as us.’</p><p>‘I can’t believe he’s going off to med-school next year.’</p><p>‘Me either,’ Charlie said, shaking his head as he reached the top step and grinned at his big sister. ‘Hey, Dana.’</p><p>‘Charlie,’ Scully mirrored his expression, unclasping her niece from her and reaching for her brother, laughing as his eyes fell to the bump she’d tried to hide with a black woolen sweater and he choked.</p><p>‘Holy fuckballs, Dana.’</p><p>‘Bad word! Daddy, you said a bad word!’</p><p>‘I know, but…Christ, Dana, you’re pregnant? I…why didn’t you say anything?! Is this why you missed Thanksgiving?’ he was engulfing her in his arms, still bombarding her with questions.</p><p>‘Yeah. I was already starting to show, and it’s such a high-risk pregnancy, I just…we didn’t want to tell everyone, and I didn’t want to risk flying or anything. We figured it was best to wait a bit, just until we were slightly more certain. I’m sorry we didn’t tell you. But, you are the first to know, so you’ve got that going for you,’ she kissed his cheek, pulling back and looking over his shoulder. ‘Dan.’</p><p>‘Dana. Hey,’ he nudged her brother away from her, smacking a kiss to her lips as he lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around him. ‘We won’t be able to do this much longer.’</p><p>‘Ha, it’s a miracle we still can.’</p><p>‘You’re as light as you were when you were sixteen, Beautiful,’ he winked, that same wink he’d given her thirty-seven years back, knowing full well she’d had a crush on him. He’d broken her heart, that summer, when she caught him kissing her younger brother instead of her. ‘Congratulations,’ he whispered in her ear as he let her slip down, ‘I’m so happy for you.’ He turned to Mulder, punching his upper arm and nodding in the most ‘guy-ish’ way he could, ‘way to go, Man. I knew you had it in you.’</p><p>‘Ew, Dad!’</p><p>Mulder laughed, pulling Dan in for a hug, ‘how much did you win?’</p><p>‘$50. Isn’t that right, Hun?’</p><p>Charlie sighed melodramatically and shook his head, not even bothering to hide his grin, ‘yeah, he gets $50 for betting there was some reason you two were making us celebrate all the way across the country this year.’</p><p>Scully was ushering the kids into the warmth of the house, pecking each of them on the cheek as they entered, crouching down for the last, smallest of her nieces and nephews. ‘Hi, Emira.’</p><p>‘Hi,’ the little one whispered around the thumb in her mouth, shyly backing into her father’s leg.</p><p>‘You recognize Auntie Dana from the video calls, don’t you Emira?’</p><p>‘Yup.’</p><p>‘I recognize you too. You’re so big,’ she bopped the toddler on the nose, eliciting giggles, ‘how old are you now, Sweetheart?’</p><p>‘Three.’</p><p>‘Three?!’ she gasped, ‘you’re so big! A big girl of three deserves some gingerbread men, don’t you think?’</p><p>‘Mmmhm.’</p><p>‘Shall we go find some?’ the toddler nodded, slipping her hand into Scully’s and letting herself be led into the warm living room, where the rest of the children were dropping down backpacks and calling dibs on a pile of various mattresses and airbeds, each with a different colour sheet on it so they could remember whose was whose each night and avoid arguments.</p><p>Mulder was telling Charlie and Dan about how they’d cleared out the box room so that Aurelia and Ben could have a little more private space, rather than staying with her younger siblings and cousins, whilst Scully was hoisting Emira onto her hip and asking her which gingerbread man she wanted from the plate on the dining room table, and at the mention of gingerbread was surrounded by the rest of her brother’s children, each politely thanking her as their hands darted out for a little cookie person.</p><p>‘She looks happy,’ Charlie remarked as the three men watched Scully and the children eating gingerbread men, ‘it’s not something we’ve seen much of on her face since we were all kids; happiness. It suits her.’</p><p>‘Let’s just hope Bill doesn’t ruin it,’ Dan commented, a slight bitter expression twisting his mouth as Mulder hummed in agreement. There was a joke that circulated occasionally, usually after the holidays, about Dan and Mulder forming a club: the partners of Scullys, disapproved of by Bill Scully, Jr.</p><p>‘I can’t imagine Scully will tolerate him ruining it this year.’</p><p>‘And if he does say anything, then she won’t be the only sibling putting him on the naughty list. He put up such a fuss about having to come all the way over here for the holidays. He wanted to spend it in the warm of San Diego after so long in the cold of Germany. I told him that it’s what Mom would have wanted. He shut up at that.’</p><p>‘It’s the only argument that man listens to.’</p><p>Mulder frowned, ‘he has every right to disapprove of me, but I don’t like the way he disapproves of Scully’s choices.’</p><p>‘Nah, Man. He’s got no right to disapprove of you. You’re family. <em>You’re</em> Dana’s <em>choice</em>.’</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Aurelia and her partner Ben, with Kody in tow, knocked on the door about two hours after the rest of their family arrived, just as everyone was sitting down for a late lunch. ‘We brought presents,’ she cried as she pushed through the unlocked door, her voice triggering the older of her two sisters to leap up from the table and run over to her, hugging her dearly.</p><p>‘Did you really bring presents?’</p><p>Ben snorted with laughter, dragging their joint suitcase in, as well as the bag of presents, with Kody following behind, tucking his phone away and walking over to the table to kiss his parents and aunt and uncle hello.</p><p>‘Of course, we did. Now go back to lunch whilst we put them under the tree or you won’t get any.’</p><p>‘Do you want any food or have you already eaten?’ Scully called over to them, across from where the extra seats at the table were spilling out into the living area.</p><p>‘We had food on the way to the airport. Ben was apparently going to wither away if we didn’t.’</p><p>‘Hey, I wasn’t being that dramatic!’</p><p>‘Sweetheart,’ Aurelia cupped his cheek, ‘you most definitely were.’ She returned to putting presents under the tree, trying to stack them all so there was still room if anyone else had to add any, before taking the last one over to the dining table. She said hello to everyone before placing the gift bag in front of Scully, ‘this one’s not for Christmas.’</p><p>‘What?’</p><p>‘Just open it. It’s also kind of for you, Mulder, but more for Aunt Scully. It’s, uh, it’s not actually wrapped.’ Scully tugged scrunched tissue paper from the bag before her fingers hit soft cotton, ‘it’s just something we picked up on the way.’</p><p>She withdrew a pair of tiny sleepsuits, light grey and striped in colour, gasping as she rubbed the soft fabric between thumb and forefinger, ‘how did you-‘</p><p>Ben shrugged, shook Mulder’s hand, ‘Ibraheem texted Kody.’</p><p>‘First thing he said when he got in the car – “aunt Dana’s pregnant.” No, “Hi, Aurie, Ben, how are you? Thanks for picking me up, happy Christmas by the way.” No. He insisted we had to go shopping immediately.’</p><p>‘I said hi.’</p><p>‘I think you mumbled it in amongst the big announcement.’</p><p>‘It’s just exciting’s all.’</p><p>‘Yeah, yeah. Go have a shower, you stink like airplane.’</p><p>Kody stuck his tongue out and dropped a kiss to his aunt’s crown, ‘congrats.’</p><p>‘Thank you, Sweetheart. You remember where the shower is?’</p><p>‘Uh-huh. Upstairs and on the left.’</p><p>‘Right. And you two are in the box room at the top of the stairs. You can leave your bags down here or take them up and get settled whilst we finish eating. It’s up to you.’ The younger couple nodded, quietly made the decision to go unpack whilst the conversation at the dinner table resumed its original noisiness. </p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Those who had wanted to go for a walk after lunch had been gone for about half an hour, leaving Dana, Aurelia, and Austin still in the house, each puttering around, unpacking, playing on his Nintendo Switch in Austin’s case.</p><p>‘So,’ Scully said, dropping down on the couch next to where her eldest niece had settled herself with a book, ‘how are you and Ben?’</p><p>The younger woman grinned, blushing slightly, ‘we’re good, we’re really good.’</p><p>‘I’m glad, Lia. Really.’</p><p>‘And you and Mulder?’</p><p>‘We’re getting there,’ she reached out for her niece’s hand, enfolding their fingers together.</p><p>‘It was kind of…a shock when dad said you were back together. It had been so long, I think we all thought you’d moved on.’</p><p>‘Hmm. I don’t think I’ll ever move on from him. I don’t think I ever wanted to.’</p><p>‘Soulmates,’ it had been discussed before between them, when Lia was younger, after family arguments over Mulder.</p><p>‘Something like that,’ she nodded. ‘We were back working together. Things got…emotional. And…we sought refuge in one another. I fully intended it to be a one-time thing or…two-time thing, but…we found William-‘</p><p>‘Shit. Is he…okay?’</p><p>‘He’s-‘ she hesitated, not quite sure how to answer ‘-he’s okay. He goes by Jackson now. He… it was a rough summer for him. His adoptive parents were killed, and he got into some trouble, but… he’s alive.’</p><p>‘Shit. And he knows about you guys?’</p><p>‘Yeah, we’ve met. He’s off doing his own thing at the moment. He’ll come home when he’s ready if he wants to.’</p><p>‘It’s nice that you think like that. I can’t imagine thinking like that.’</p><p>‘It takes strength. It’s how your dads feel about you, I imagine. The strength to love the people who aren’t always there.’</p><p>‘Is it hard not knowing when he’ll be with you: if he’ll ever be with you?’</p><p>‘Sometimes. But I have him with me always anyway, here’— she tapped her heart, and then her head –‘and here,’ Scully smiled, looking up at the sound of an engine, footsteps crunching in the snow outside. A knock on the door.</p><p>‘Uncle Bill,’ Aurelia rolled her eyes. Scully rolled her eyes too and went over to the door, pulling it open with a forced smile.</p><p>‘Dana, hi!’ Tara smiled, bringing her sister-in-law in for a hug before drawing back suddenly, ‘oh, my, Dana, I…what a surprise.’</p><p>‘Oh, it was for us too. Come in, come in. Hi, boys,’ her nephews each nodded in greeting, the eldest giving her stomach a skeptical look and an uncomfortable smile. He’d heard the stories. Was old enough to understand the implications. His Aunt Scully was infertile, had given up her first and only son; was an unfit mother. ‘Bill?’</p><p>‘Dana,’ he gave what he clearly thought was a warm, albeit patronizing, smile, and drew her in for a hug. ‘You should have said.’</p><p>‘It’s complicated, Bill, as I’m sure you can appreciate.’</p><p>‘Well, I don’t see how complicated it can be-‘</p><p>‘No, you wouldn’t,’ Scully muttered under her breath before giving him a terse smile, ‘it’s a high-risk pregnancy, what with my age and…various medical conditions and history. Given that, we felt it advisable to keep it quiet until we had to and take as few risks as possible. Hence missing Thanksgiving. Until this morning only Mulder and our doctor knew.’</p><p>‘I still think a little warning would have been polite, Dana. And as for Thanksgiving, I’m sure we could have known a month sooner-‘</p><p>‘Bill, I was just at the end of my first trimester. Whether we celebrated at Charlie’s or at yours we’d have had to fly, and I was not confident that that would be safe for the baby, and if something went wrong, something happened, it would not have been an ideal situation – away from my own doctors who know my history. And, as I just said, we wanted to keep it just between the two of us until we were more sure that everything was okay.’</p><p>‘Well, I-‘</p><p>‘Bill,’ Tara lay a soft hand on her husband’s arm, giving him a look that clearly stated enough was enough. ‘We’re so happy for you, Dana. I know how much this means.’</p><p>‘Thank you. Charlie, Dan, Mulder, and most of the kids are on a walk. I imagine they’ll be back soon if you want to get settled whilst they’re gone. We’ve made up a bed in the office for you, and the others can tell you which mattresses are taken already when they get back. Feel free to make yourself at home, though. Bathroom’s upstairs and on the left. Hot water’s pretty reliable, but the motor sometimes needs hitting a couple of times – we don’t use the guest bathroom particularly often. Not much need. We had a cold spread for lunch, help yourself to leftovers if you’re hungry.’</p><p>‘Well, I think we’ll get settled then. Aurelia, Austin, good to see you.’</p><p>‘Hi, Uncle Bill,’ they chorused, without looking up from what they were doing. He nodded sternly and turned on his heel to the door Dana indicated, taking his suitcase and wife in hand.</p><p>‘Help yourself to food, boys, then settle down wherever.’ They nodded and she smiled stiffly, all drifting off to their own corners of the room. Scully let out a breath, feeling herself deflating slightly. She looked over at Aurelia and rolled her eyes, ‘I’m going upstairs for a bit. You’re in charge.’</p><p>‘You okay?’</p><p>‘Yeah, I just need…I don’t know what I need. I need a nap.’</p><p>Her niece nodded, understanding, ‘I’ll send Mulder up when they all get back.’</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>A snowball hit him in the chest and he grunted, clutched at where it hit, and staggered to the ground, ‘agh, I’m hit.’</p><p>It was Ben, Dan, Callie, and Mulder against Kody, Ibraheem, and Charlie, with assistance – or hindrance – from Emira, in the snowball fight that their walk had descended into as they drew closer to the house. Ben chuffed with laughter as Callie ran over to Mulder, trying to drag him up.</p><p>‘It’s too late, Kid. Just leave me. I’m done for – agh! Tell your aunt I love her!’</p><p>‘Mulder!’ she squealed with delight, ducking just in time to miss one of Kody’s poorly aimed projectiles, ‘you’re so silly! Come on!’</p><p>‘Okay, Kid, but you’re dragging me off my deathbed here,’ he muttered, letting her try and pull him up a couple more times before helping her. Dan and Ben had been holding the others off, not a hard task given Kody’s terrible aim and Charlie spending most of his time making snowballs for Emira to throw a maximum of two feet. Ibraheem was the only concern and Mulder tucked himself and Callie behind the rough barricade of ice they’d made. ‘We’re gonna need to make some more ammo to try and target Ibraheem. You think you’re up to the task?’</p><p>‘Yup!’</p><p>‘Good job. I’m gonna go sneak into enemy territory, see what I can do about taking Kody out. Am I clear?’</p><p>‘Yeah, go, go go!’</p><p>He rolled in the snow, grunting as he got himself to a crouched standing with the crack of his knees, and ducked closer towards the house, following the line of the porch around to the tree that the other team was using as their base camp. Back to the wall, he dropped down, compacting a hard ball of icy snow. There was a drooping bough piled high directly over his nephew's head and he was certain that with one good aim he could knock it down.</p><p>It took two good aims, the first revealing his position but the second coming quick enough to hit the branch and knock the drift of snow down onto Kody’s head, into his hood, and down the back of his coat, leaving him jumping about to try and shake it out so much that he knocked into his brother and they both tumbled to the ground. They descended into tussling with one another, and cheers of victory rang out from the rest of Mulder’s team. He walked over to the two boys, now flat on their backs and laughing heartily, with the slight swagger and smirk of a winner, and reached out both hands to pull them up.</p><p>‘Well played, old man.’</p><p>‘I was going easy on you, too. I mean, I figured that with Kody on your team you’d need all the help you could get,’ Mulder shrugged, and the older of the two boys shoved into him with a shoulder, sticking his middle finger up at him out of the view of his younger sisters.</p><p>‘That’s fighting talk, that is.’</p><p>‘I could take you in a heartbeat, Kid,’ he laughed and shook his head.</p><p>‘I mean, I think he just did,’ Ibraheem, usually so soft-spoken, snickered, dodging a punch from his brother as they made their way back around to the front of the house.</p><p>Mulder waited for Charlie, Dan, and the girls to catch up, high-fiving Callie when she ran over to him with a grin plastered to her face, nose, and cheeks pinking in the cold.</p><p>‘Having fun?’ Charlie asked as they drew near.</p><p>‘Yeah,’ he nodded, dusting some of the snow off of his coat, ‘I forgot how much fun these guys are.’</p><p>‘You need to come visit more. They love their Uncle Mulder and Auntie Dana, all of them.’</p><p>‘It’s ‘cause you’re both great with kids. You treat them like adults but still mess about with them.’</p><p>He nodded, turned his face away to look at the dark clouds hanging over the treeline. Dan and Charlie shared a glance and Dan took their daughters a little further onward, leaving just Mulder and Charlie. ‘You’re nervous, aren’t you? About the baby?’</p><p>‘Who wouldn’t be? No, I mean. Yes, I guess. I just…’ he took a breath, looked around, ‘you know how it was. I never really got a chance to be a dad. You know, maybe I’ll only ever be good at being fun Uncle Mulder, not fun Dad.’</p><p>‘You won’t be fun Dad. That’s not what being a dad’s about,’ Charlie shrugged. ‘But you’ll be a good dad. You’ll love the kid, and you’ll tell them off when they get into trouble, and you’ll read them bedtime stories and convince them that they really do need to eat their greens and go to school. You’ll help them with homework and ground them for finding and smoking that pack of cigarettes that I <em>know</em> Dana still keeps hidden at the back of one of her drawers.’</p><p>‘You know that, do you?’</p><p>‘Scully child trait. Don’t believe me, check the back of her sock drawer.’</p><p>Mulder chuckled, ‘oh, I believe you. You do that too?’</p><p>He nodded with a laugh, ‘Missy did, as well. Though Missy also used to keep her weed there. But the sock drawer was always where we hid the cigarettes we stole from Mom. You know, the only one of us not to do that was Bill? Straight fucker,’ they snorted together, taking the steps up to the house. ‘You’ll be a good dad, though, Man. You already are.’</p><p>‘Thanks.’</p><p>‘No problem,’ he clapped his brother in law on the back and slipped out of his boots as he pushed the door open, ‘looks like Lia’s making hot chocolate. And Bill’s here.’</p><p>Mulder pushed through after him, scanning the room. Tara smiled over from where she was hugging her two younger nieces and Bill gave a terse nod towards him. He went over, shook their hands briefly, was pulled into a hug by Tara, and welcomed each of their boys, exclaiming how tall the younger two had gotten, how grown up they all looked.</p><p>‘Well, it’s been five years, of course, they’ve grown,’ Bill glared at him, and he nodded with regret.</p><p>‘And I’m very sad to have missed those five years.’</p><p>Aurelia, two mugs of hot chocolate in hand, peered around her uncle, ‘hey, sorry to interrupt. Dana’s upstairs taking a nap. I made a hot chocolate for you to take up to her.’</p><p>‘Thanks,’ Mulder nodded, accepting both mugs and navigating his way around the various family members sprawled around the house, up to their bedroom. It was, unsurprisingly, the only quiet room in the place when the door was closed and he took a moment to admire Scully sleeping soundly, curled up on top of the covers. There was a damp patch on the pillow where she’d been drooling and he couldn’t help but grin at her soft snores as he placed both their mugs down on the end table and sat on the bed next to her, wrapping a hand around her stomach and pressing a kiss to her temple. She snuffled, nuzzled her face further into the pillow, and melted back into his warmth, ‘hey, sleepyhead. You want to wake up or stay sleeping?’</p><p>‘Time is it?’</p><p>‘Just past four. I was going to start prepping for dinner. You can stay up here for a bit more if you want.’</p><p>She groaned and shook her head, ‘we’re being terrible hosts.’</p><p>‘Nah. They all understand.’</p><p>She rolled over and sat herself up, taking his hand and moving it slightly on her stomach, ‘bet Bill doesn’t.’</p><p>‘Well, everyone but Bill does. Baby moving much?’</p><p>‘Uh-huh. She’s a little gymnast whenever you talk, tumbling all over the place.’</p><p>‘Tell me again what it feels like.’</p><p>She dropped her head onto his shoulder, settling in, ‘just like…little flutters. Like…you know when you’re hungry and your stomach rumbles and rolls? Kind of like that.’</p><p>‘And it makes it feel more real?’</p><p>She smiled, nodded, ‘yeah. It felt real before - the last month or so, anyway - but now, she’s moving and I…I remember with William, the first time I really noticed him moving it was like he was trying to wake me up, like he knew I’d been in this…stupor. And he’d been trying and trying to get my attention, to get me to realise what was happening, you know, that it was real, that I was having a baby, and I had to start thinking about getting ready,’ she frowned, fiddled with his fingers. ‘I buried you two months before. I guess until you returned I had something pushing me forward – I had this life inside of me and I had to find his father. And then you were dead and…I had to keep going but it was hard. I was grieving and I didn’t feel like I deserved to grieve, because nobody else knew what we really were, and I had this miracle that I was carrying and surely I couldn’t be grieving and carrying my miracle, so I sort of just shut down. When I look back on it he’d started quickening a couple weeks before that and I’d been so numb to it, but that first big roll…I spent most of the night crying, and then I took the morning off work the next day and went shopping for baby things. I bought this little onesie with foxes on it – and, you know, I’m a doctor, I know how tiny babies are, but it just hit me, then, feeling my baby - my miracle – moving within me and holding this tiny, tiny little babygrow, that it was all really happening. I had this life, this tiny, fragile little life that had, by some miracle, clung on through thick and thin. And I had to start taking care of myself and it.’</p><p>Mulder wiped a stray tear from her cheek, hugged her tighter to him and pressed his lips to her crown, ‘you never told me some of that before.’</p><p>‘I guess it never felt right until now. You’re here with me this time.’</p><p>‘I’m not leaving your side. Ever. You’re stuck with me now, you know that, right?’</p><p>She chuckled, sniffed, ‘Mulder, I’ve been stuck with you since ’93.’</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>‘Hmm,’ Mulder nosed into the soft warmth of Scully’s neck as he burrowed back into bed, wrapping his arms around her tighter as she sighed and yawned. ‘Merry Christmas.’</p>
<p>‘Mmm, merry Christmas, Mulder,’ she craned her neck round for a kiss, tugging lightly on his bottom lip, ‘s’cold.’</p>
<p>‘Heating’ll kick in in fifteen. I brought you tea,’ he nodded over to her bedside table and she grinned at him.</p>
<p>‘How did I get so lucky?’</p>
<p>‘Question’s mutual I’m ‘fraid.’</p>
<p>‘Were any of the kids awake when you went to turn it on?’</p>
<p>‘Nope. All sleeping soundly. Emira and Callie are the only ones who will probably wake early, anyway, and I imagine with all the boys down there if Callie even thinks of waking anyone, she’ll get at least one pillow in the face, if not six.’</p>
<p>‘True.’</p>
<p>‘So,’ he pressed his lips to the back of her neck as she settled back against him, dropped his hands down to cup her belly, ‘you want your Christmas present?’</p>
<p>‘Mulder, we said no-‘</p>
<p>‘The fact you assume I’m not being lascivious there kind of disappoints me,’ he ground his pelvis into her arse, slipped his fingers to brush at the skin of her inner thigh.</p>
<p>‘Sadly, I know you far too well,’ she sighed, ‘Mulder, how many years has it been?’</p>
<p>‘Uh…don’t ask questions like that. It makes me feel old.’</p>
<p>‘We said no presents.’</p>
<p>‘And we said no presents last year. We still got them. Next year can we just agree on admitting we are actually going to get one another gifts.’</p>
<p>‘Next year baby will take up all of our thoughts on gifts.’</p>
<p>‘Well then, we might as well make use of our time now then,’ he reached over to his side cabinet, pulled open the drawer, waiting as she mirrored his actions, before each shifting themselves to sit cross-legged and facing one another, knees touching, hands clasped behind their backs. ‘Same time?’</p>
<p>She nodded, ‘on three?’</p>
<p>‘’kay, one, two, three.’</p>
<p>They each brought a small ring-box out, matching comments of ‘it’s not what you think,’ stunned, wide-eyed looks exchanged.</p>
<p>Mulder bit his lip, nudged the navy ring-box over to her, ‘it’s not an engagement ring. Not if you don’t want it to be. Obviously, if you’re about to propose to me, then it can most definitely be an engagement ring, but that’s not- it’s just that I know we’ve discussed it so many times and I completely understand and agree with your reasons for not marrying but I still- I wanted a way to-‘</p>
<p>‘Mulder?’</p>
<p>‘Mmm?’</p>
<p>‘Shut up. I’m not proposing.’</p>
<p>He sighed, ‘oh, thank God. Not that- I didn’t mean that I don’t want to marry you, I do, I would in a heartbeat, you know that, but I thought-‘</p>
<p>‘I know. Go on, open it,’ he does, smiling at the matt black titanium band, ‘I was looking at this gold tiger ring at Cartier, diamonds for eyes, ears like steel knuckles. This big,’ she held her fingers an inch apart, ‘but when I asked if I could commission an alien head one of the same style they kicked me out. There’s an inscription.’</p>
<p>He removed the ring, tilted it so the shadows revealed her words, <em>my truth,</em> <em>my miracle</em>. ‘I think the baby’s your miracle.’</p>
<p>‘No. I wouldn’t have any of my miracles without you, Mulder. Thank you.’</p>
<p>He smiled softly, leant over and pressed his lips to hers; just a slow, tender kiss communicating everything he didn’t have words for. ‘Your turn.’</p>
<p>She snapped the navy box open, gasping lightly, ‘Mulder, it’s-‘</p>
<p>‘It’s not a classic shape, but, uh- it reminded me of the ocean. And of you. And the aquamarine, well…it’s the colour of your eyes and I just…I couldn’t not go with that one. It also has an inscription – it was quite a squeeze, I have to say.’</p>
<p>Scully slipped the platinum ring from its velvet cushion and turned it, sniffing away tears as she read the cursive <em>constant, touchstone</em>. ‘Thank you,’ her words trembled as she broke into full sobs.</p>
<p>He chuckled, brushing her tears away, ‘hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay, Scully. Here, let me do the honours,’ he carefully removed the ring from her grasp, straightened her right ring finger out and guided the metal band over her knuckles. Brought her hand to his lips, kissed the aquamarine, kissed her salty cheeks, her shut eyelids before sliding his own ring onto his corresponding finger. ‘Did you know I was getting you a promise ring?’</p>
<p>‘No,’ she shook her head with a choked laugh, ‘I had no idea.’</p>
<p>‘Great minds, hey? Come ’ere,’ he pulled her into his lap, wrapped her in his arms and buried his face in her neck as she reflected his position, two swans twining around one another. ‘Love you, Scully.’</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>A knock on their door pulled them out of their soft dozing. Scully clutched the covers to her chest and sat up, a croaked ‘yes?’</p>
<p>‘Hey,’ Dan popped his head into the room with a whisper, ‘we’ve got a little one who wants to wake you two up. You decent?’</p>
<p>‘Give us two seconds?’</p>
<p>‘Sure,’ he nodded, closing the door behind him. They could hear his footsteps retreat to the other bedroom at the end of the hall as they each slipped on the t-shirts and boxers they’d shed after sharing their gifts, settling back down into the covers and one another’s arms.</p>
<p>Moments later, the door clicked open and little footsteps padded across the wooden floor to Scully’s side of the bed, little hands reaching up and patting at her arm. ‘It Christmas!’ was yelled in her face and Scully blinked open an eye to look down at Emira’s grin.</p>
<p>‘Are you sure?’</p>
<p>‘Yes!’ the child squealed as she was lifted up and onto the bed to sit between Mulder and Scully.</p>
<p>‘Can you wake Uncle Mulder up?’</p>
<p>‘Unc’ Mul’er! Wake up now!’ she screamed in his ear, earning a laugh from Scully and the two men in the doorway and a growl and tickles from Mulder. ‘Time for Christmas!’</p>
<p>‘Really?’</p>
<p>‘Yeah, Silly!’</p>
<p>‘Hmm, how about you go with your daddies and make sure everyone else is awake and we’ll join you in a minute?’</p>
<p>‘Sure thing!’ she clambered to standing, wobbling her way to the end of the bed and jumping down, running out the door with her parents in tow.</p>
<p>‘Hmmm…we’re gonna have to get used to that.’</p>
<p>‘If Charlie and Dan can manage it, so can we.’</p>
<p>‘Charlie’s barely fifty, and Dan was only fifty-one when they adopted her. I’m old.’</p>
<p>‘What happened to still being relatively young?’</p>
<p>‘I got woken up by a toddler, that’s what happened.’</p>
<p>She chuckled into his shoulder and patted his stomach, ‘come on then, old man. We’d better get up before any more kids come charging in here.’</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Once the mattresses had been stacked back against the wall and the sofa had been folded back in, and the coffee table pushed out of the way to clear an open space around the tree, Christmas was spent with everyone in pyjamas gathered in the living room. Dan and Charlie shared one of the armchairs, limbs sticking out and coiling around one another in every direction; Mulder and Scully folded themselves into one end of the couch, whilst Tara took the other, and Bill sat in the last armchair. The older children all lounged around on the floor, blankets and pillows and cushions scattered amongst them, whilst Emira toddled between everyone’s laps and Callie took on the prestigious role of picking and handing out each of the gifts from under the tree with extreme ceremony.</p>
<p>Bill had been oblivious to the rings adorning their fingers, but Tara had given brief kisses to each of their cheeks when they bumped into her heading into the bathroom, running a thumb over the aquamarine stone set into the band on Scully’s finger with a quiet smile.</p>
<p>Charlie had been much less oblivious, eye catching on both rings the minute they stepped downstairs. He then proceeded to drag Dan over and the pair quizzed them for a solid ten minutes on dates and dresses and cakes and colours and locations and invites until Scully rolled her eyes and clamped her hand over her brother’s mouth, Mulder explaining that there wouldn’t be a wedding, that they were promise rings.</p>
<p>‘Dammit, guys. I want to plan a wedding.’</p>
<p>‘Plan your own then,’ Scully shrugged, ‘renew your vows.’</p>
<p>‘You’d look stunning in white, Charlie,’ Mulder suggested.</p>
<p>‘Ohh, now there’s an idea,’ Dan had grinned, eyes lighting up as he dragged his husband away and they started discussing intricacies.</p>
<p>Other than another brief explanation of them exchanging promise rings to Callie, most of the children smiled, shrugged and moved on: they all understood that Auntie Dana and Uncle Mulder were different when it came to their relationship – most of them had grown up seeing it evolve, after all.</p>
<p>Mulder, Tara, Charlie, Aurelia, Ben and Billy Jr. had been in and out of the kitchen throughout the morning; chopping vegetables, checking on the turkey, making gravy and working on any other preparations needed for the Christmas dinner to serve fifteen people. Scully had, at one point or another, been ordered to sit back down by each and every one of them at least once; partly to let her rest and partly because Scully really could not cook.</p>
<p>Lunch passed amicably, all squeezed around the tables and desks they’d jammed together to create space for everyone, conversation overlapping. Mulder congratulated Billy Jr. on his excellent gravy and stuffing, asked about the job he had doing pot-wash for a restaurant back in Germany. Scully and Callie talked in depth about the accuracy of the current perception of dinosaurs and why they probably didn’t roar like in Jurassic Park. Tara and Dan were discussing whether they should watch The Nutcracker, Miracle on 34<sup>th</sup> Street or Home Alone that evening, with various people interjecting their thoughts and preferences. Many of the older children were engaging in a word association game, raucous laughter splitting the air.</p>
<p>After dinner, when all the plates and bowls had been washed up by those who hadn’t cooked, the entirety of the party went for a walk around the property and into the woods behind the meadow, everyone ambling at their own pace in couples and groups of three or four, quieter conversations and hands being held, the peaceful atmosphere of the post-food stroll in the softly falling flakes of snow. One of the kids had a Bluetooth speaker singing out carols, and every so often strains would be picked up by one or more of the walkers, hummed or sung into the crisp, still air.</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>She was checking on the pie in the oven when Bill came up behind her, clearing his throat and making her jump, ‘why do you like Charlie’s kids more than mine?’</p>
<p>‘I beg your pardon?’ to say she spluttered would be an understatement. ‘I love all of the kids in this room equally.’</p>
<p>‘But you talk to Charlie’s kids. You have conversations with them. This whole time we’ve been here, you laugh at their jokes. You hug them all constantly. But not with Billy or Samuel, and certainly not with Matthew. So what’s wrong with my kids?’</p>
<p>Scully glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the family, laughing at Mulder doing a very poor impression of E. T. ‘I’m not having this conversation in here. Outside, now,’ she pointed at the back door, grabbing one of her coats on the hook beside it and handing him one of Mulder’s. He looked about to protest when she glared at him. ‘It’s cold. Put it on and get outside. Now.’</p>
<p>Holding his chin high, shrugging into the slightly too tight coat of his detested brother-in-law and growling at the wind that hit his cheeks as he opened the door, he waited for Scully before slamming it back closed. ‘I want you to explain.’</p>
<p>Scully sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and pushing past Bill to get to the bench seat just down the back porch from the door. ‘I talk to Charlie’s children because I know them. I talk to them on the phone, or Skype them or Facetime them, at least once a month, usually more than that. I talk to them because I talk to Charlie. Because we both have partners that you have shown your distaste for, and Mom and Dad did too at times. We feel isolated from you, Bill. And whilst you are less hostile towards Dan than you are towards Mulder, there are times when it still hurts both of us equally to see our only brother disapprove of everything we have chosen in our life.’</p>
<p>‘Well, I-‘ he blustered, trying to argue his way out of it. ‘That doesn’t mean you can’t still engage my children in conversation.’</p>
<p>‘I do. I try to, at least.’</p>
<p>‘No. Every time we see you and Mr. Mulder, he is the one to talk to them. He is the one to interact with them. Even Tara’s noticed.’</p>
<p>She shook her head, ‘I don’t know what to say.’</p>
<p>‘I want an explanation.’</p>
<p>‘No. You won’t like me after I give my explanation.’</p>
<p>‘Try me.’</p>
<p>She sighed, shook her head. Turned her face from his, ran a thumbnail over her bottom lip. ‘Do you know what I see when I see your children? I see so, <em>so</em> much of my pain. And it’s not your fault, or their fault, or anyone’s fault. But when I look at Matthew I see my daughter, the one that looked like our sister, the one that you said I shouldn’t look after, shouldn’t love. I see my daughter who died twenty minutes after Matthew was born. Whose funeral you and your wife thought it was <em>appropriate</em> to bring your newborn to. I know you can’t see it from my perspective, but that really hurt. I stood there as you took your perfect little baby home whilst I had to bury a daughter I was never even given a chance to get to know.’</p>
<p>‘You should have said somethin-’</p>
<p>‘Said <em>what</em>, Bill? Because you would have told me I was being ungrateful, disrespectful. And Mom would have agreed with you,’ placing a hand on her bump, she shifted slightly, discretely trying to wipe tears from her cheeks on her coat shoulder. ‘When I see Billy, do you know who I am reminded of?’</p>
<p>‘Let me guess, the son you gave up? You don’t get to blame that one on me, Dana. That one was all on you. If you didn’t want him, or couldn’t cope with him, or-‘</p>
<p>‘No. No, see, you didn’t listen then and you’re not going to listen now. I sent William away to be safe. He was in danger and I couldn’t protect him. I fully accept my guilt for that. But what didn’t help was you giving the son born three months after my son was adopted the same name. That-that was callous.’</p>
<p>‘It’s a family name.’</p>
<p>‘I know. I know. That is why I used it. Would I use a family name on a son I didn’t want? No. Of course, I wouldn’t. And I understand why you called him William, I do. But it was so, so close to me losing my son. I didn’t even have his baby name sacred to me anymore.’</p>
<p>‘If you couldn’t cope as a single mother, you should have said something-‘</p>
<p>‘It wasn’t being a single mother I couldn’t cope with. Do you know how many attempts were made on my baby’s life while he lived with me? Four times, someone took him from me, tried to hurt him or kill him. And that’s not including all of the times my pregnancy with him was endangered. And, before you say anything, I was not an am not paranoid. He was not safe with me. I couldn’t protect him.’</p>
<p>‘It’s no surprise, not having a father there to protect you both.’</p>
<p>‘Don’t,’ she growled, ‘don’t you dare blame Mulder for that. He’s blamed himself more than enough for it over the years. We both have. The guilt and the pain that my giving him up caused broke us up. If you can’t see the love I have for my baby, then you are blind, Bill.’</p>
<p>He huffed, ‘within a week you’d disappeared off the face of the planet.’</p>
<p>‘I know. I missed Samuel being born. I missed a lot of things. I missed the adoption of two of Charlie and Dan’s kids. But when I came back, Charlie and Dan welcomed me with open arms. Introduced me to their children. You didn’t do that. You blamed me. Listed my mistakes and downfalls in front of your children and my partner. Charlie and Dan make an effort to include Mulder and myself in their lives. You…you never have. Maybe me, when Mom was around, but definitely not Mulder.’</p>
<p>‘I invited you both to Thanksgiving and you didn’t show.’</p>
<p>‘I told you, Bill. We didn’t want to fly to Germany considering my pregnancy. And we didn’t want to tell anyone in case I miscarried. We have apologised for that, far more times than we should need to, considering it isn’t something we should have to apologise for at all. It is our life, our business.’ She stood, looking at him sadly as she did so. ‘We try. I try. I don’t always succeed, but at least I try,’ with a shake of her head and a sigh she turned away from him, ‘I need to go take the pie out of the oven. It’s gonna burn.’</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>‘Matthew, your Mom tells me you’re training to be a physiotherapist,’ Scully smiled across the conglomeration of tables they’d jammed together in the kitchen.</p>
<p>‘Well, a sports therapist.’</p>
<p>‘Right-‘</p>
<p>‘Am I the only one here who doesn’t know the difference?’ Aurelia asked, and her two younger cousins sniggered, one of them murmuring a <em>told you so</em>.</p>
<p>‘Physio just helps rehabilitate but helps anyone who needs it with rehabilitation. Sports therapists aim to prevent injuries as well as rehabilitate. We also often work with dieticians. And, as our job title suggests, we work with sportsmen rather than the general public.’</p>
<p>‘So you wouldn’t be able to help me with the constant pain I have in my back at the moment?’ Scully asked, half-jokingly, with a grin.</p>
<p>He shook his head with a shrug, ‘I use physiotherapy but…given your condition, I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t want to do anything that might cause any problems.’</p>
<p>‘My condition,’ she snorted. ‘Pregnancy, Matthew, call it what it is. <em>Condition</em> makes me feel like a lady from the eighteen-hundreds.’</p>
<p>He furrowed his brow, looked down at his plate and pushed around some of the food with his fork before looking up and meeting her gaze with a shy smile, ‘okay.’</p>
<p>‘You’re allowed to ask about it, you know? About the baby. I don’t mind. All of you. I know some of you do already, but it’s okay for all of you to ask,’ a hush fell over the table, a pause of scraping cutlery. Mulder’s hand clasped her knee in comfortable solidarity.</p>
<p>Matthew shrugged, eyes darting to his parents before back to Scully, ‘I guess I just don’t really understand.’</p>
<p>‘Me either. What don’t you understand?’</p>
<p>‘I- I have these memories of having a baby cousin. I was only, like, four then, and I think we only visited once or twice, maybe when we were ‘round Grandma Scully’s, but…I remember-‘</p>
<p>‘William.’</p>
<p>‘Did…can I ask what happened to him?’</p>
<p>She nodded with a bittersweet smile, ‘we had a son. And we loved him – so, so much. As much as your parents love you and your brothers. We…we didn’t exactly think it was possible for me to have children – we’d spent a lot of time and money trying before that. You remember that Mulder and I worked for the FBI?’</p>
<p>‘Yeah.’</p>
<p>‘Well, we got into some dangerous situations. Made dangerous enemies. And those enemies wanted to take William from us, to hurt him, and there was nothing we could do to keep him safe. So, I had him adopted. And I do not think I have ever made a harder decision in my life. But, he went and lived with a family who loved him, like Aurelia, Kody, Ibraheem, Austin, Callie and Emira.’</p>
<p>‘And you never saw him again?’</p>
<p>‘We did. This year, we met him again. He’s grown up now, off doing his own thing.’</p>
<p>‘Why didn’t you have another baby until now Auntie Dana?’ Callie asked from where she sat beside Charlie.</p>
<p>‘It’s kind of complicated,’ Scully shrugged, looking over at her. ‘For a long time we both had a lot of guilt and pain for William. And for a little while we were…travelling, and it wasn’t an ideal situation, and then I was working at a hospital and I was very busy, and also we didn’t think I could have any more babies – William was a bit of a shock as it was.’</p>
<p>‘That’s not to say we didn’t try,’ Mulder interjected, ‘but when we did try, and it didn’t work, it pulled us apart more than it pushed us together. And I wasn’t very well-‘</p>
<p>‘Neither of us were. So we separated for a few years and took a break.’</p>
<p>‘Did you stop loving one another?’ that was Samuel, Tara’s blond-haired, wide-eyed boy with the soft, tender voice.</p>
<p>‘No. Not really. I think we stopped liking one another for a bit when things were at their worst. But we never stopped loving one another,’ she smiled up at her Mulder, ‘I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving him.’</p>
<p>‘Promise?’ Mulder asked from beside her.</p>
<p>‘I promise,’ she leant over to press a kiss to his cheek, pulling back with a blush before going back to her meal. ‘Any more questions?’</p>
<p>‘Do you know the sex?’</p>
<p>‘Not yet,’ Mulder said, spearing a carrot with his fork, ‘but my money’s on boy.’</p>
<p>‘It’s a girl,’ Scully murmured, nudging him in the side.</p>
<p>‘You don’t know that for sure.’</p>
<p>‘I’m more sure than you are.’</p>
<p>‘How are you so sure then, Little-Miss-Psychic?’</p>
<p>‘A woman knows, Fox,’ Tara shrugged from the other side of the table, ‘particularly when she’s carried before. You just get this feeling.’</p>
<p>‘See. Nothing psychic about it, just good old women’s intuition.’</p>
<p>‘You’re excited though?’ Kody asked, beaming at them, ‘I’d be excited. Nervous too – I’ve been doing a lot of research into obstetrics and paediatrics lately.’</p>
<p>‘Is that what you’re thinking of specialising in?’ Scully took the opportunity to divert attention away from herself.</p>
<p>‘Yeah, I think. It’s a tough job, though.’</p>
<p>‘It is,’ she swallowed thickly, and Mulder’s hand on her knee gave a comforting squeeze as Bill shifted in his chair, causing it to grate across the tile, ‘but it’s worth it. I worked in paeds when I was working at the hospital before we went back to the FBI. It’s difficult, and the bad days often outnumber the good, but the rewards are the unbelievably good days. If you ever want advice, or contact with people in the field, you just have to call.’</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>‘Thank you, Dana. For talking to them, I mean,’ Tara was helping her wash up. She’d wanted the break from everyone after the long time at dinner, and a chance to stand and stretch her back and legs. When Tara had refused to not help, she hadn’t been able to come up with any reasons not to decline politely.</p>
<p>‘It’s not a problem. Bill…I don’t think I ever really realised how much I excluded them compared to Charlie’s kids.’</p>
<p>‘I think I understand it a bit more than Bill does. And – I hope you don’t mind – he told me some of the things you said.’</p>
<p>She shrugged, ‘I expected nothing less.’</p>
<p>‘I…I want to apologise-‘</p>
<p>‘Tara, you really don’t have to, it-‘</p>
<p>‘No, Dana, I do,’ she placed down the bowl she was rinsing and turned to Scully. ‘We have never been close – we’re very different people. And I understand that a lot more than Bill does. But that doesn’t excuse some of my behaviours in the past,’ it was a stiff conversation, formulated, and it made Scully’s skin crawl. ‘There were times that I was callous towards your grief, and I think Bill and I may have made things worse for you.’</p>
<p>‘Tara, please, this is- you do not need to apologise. I do not blame you, for any of my grief. Not you and not Bill. What I said to my brother earlier may have been rather harsh. And I should apologise too. For…everything, I guess. Not being a good sister-in-law, not being a good aunt.’</p>
<p>Tara’s shoulders slumped slightly and she nodded. ‘It’s strange, being an outsider in the Scully family, you know? It’s really hard to feel welcome.’</p>
<p>‘Tell me about it,’ Scully muttered.</p>
<p>‘No, I mean…Bill’s not like you and Charlie and Melissa. You were all very close and he was, well…’</p>
<p>‘Everyone’s an outsider in the Scully family,’ she shrugged wearily, ‘each of us is shunned for something we have done. It is the way of us. Bill didn’t exactly make our lives easy for us when we were kids, particularly when he was the perfect golden boy. And Charlie was disowned when he ran off with Dan. Melissa was…too free-spirited for both Ahab and Bill’s liking and I…I was a disappointment. So maybe the younger three Scully’s banded together, but Charlie and Missy didn’t exactly get on most of the time, and even I had my times not talking to Charlie. Missy went MIA for a whole year. You and Bill were the only ones Mom was never disappointed in. You gave her a daughter-in-law and three perfect grandsons. I understand what you’re saying, Tara, I really do, because we all feel that unwelcome feeling when we’re around one another – it’s been there our whole lives. And, I’m afraid to say, I think the partners of Scully’s have it worst off.’</p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Lunchtime boxing day had Bill, Tara and their three boys stood at the entranceway, suitcases in hand, hugging each of their relatives goodbye and wishing everyone one last merry Christmas and a happy New Year.</p>
<p>‘I’m so sorry we couldn’t stay for New Years, Dana. It would have been so nice to catch up more, but…my parents haven’t seen us all year and they’re getting old, you know – we never know when it will be the last time.’</p>
<p>‘We understand completely,’ she pressed a kiss to her sister-in-law’s cheek, less stiff than her usual interactions with Tara, but still not completely the comfortable way she comported herself around Dan and Charlie.</p>
<p>‘Call us with updates on baby. And, if you need anything, just call. We’ll be in Germany, but I can get a flight back if ever you need me to.’</p>
<p>‘Thank you,’ Scully nodded with a soft smile, turning to her eldest nephew. ‘I still can’t believe how big you’ve grown.’</p>
<p>‘I’m not that tall.’</p>
<p>‘No, but everyone looks tall to me. Come here, Matthew,’ she pulled him down for a hug, ‘I’m so proud of everything you’ve achieved. I hope you know that, right?’</p>
<p>He pulled back with furrowed brow, ‘yeah, yeah, I think so.’</p>
<p>‘I am. Have a good birthday next week.’</p>
<p>‘Thanks, Aunt Dana.’</p>
<p>Bill cleared his throat, ‘Matthew, your cousins want to say goodbye,’ he watched as his son moved away before looking down at his younger sister, hands in his pockets and a quiet, contemplative expression on his face. ‘Hey.’</p>
<p>‘Hey, Bill.’</p>
<p>He seemed to be searching the wall behind her for the answer to all of his life’s troubles. ‘I don’t understand your choices, Dana. They are not choices I would make. But…I’m trying to accept them. I still don’t understand your relationship with Mr Mulder-‘</p>
<p>‘Just Mulder, Bill. And he’s a good man. You might not be able to see it but I can. And he loves me, unconditionally. I wouldn’t settle for anyone else.’</p>
<p>‘I think I’m starting to see that.’</p>
<p>She laughed with a shake of her head, ‘took you long enough.’</p>
<p>‘Don’t- don’t disappear on us, Dana. We love you, too. And Tara and the boys really like Mulder. Just… I guess all we want is a phone call now and then, to know you’re alive and okay. And not just when something bad happens, though that too.’</p>
<p>‘Okay,’ Scully nodded, ‘but you’ve got to pull your weight too, Bill. You’ve got to call and Facetime us – not Tara but you. You have to put in the same effort you expect me to put in.’</p>
<p>‘I think I can do that.’</p>
<p>‘Okay.’</p>
<p>Her brother pulled her in, engulfed her in a hug – the kind she remembered Ahab giving, ‘congratulations on the baby, Dana. Mom would be so happy,’ he murmured into the top of her head before pulling away, ‘call us when you know the due date – I’ll see about getting leave to come visit.’</p>
<p>‘Thank you, Bill. That’s very thoughtful. Stay safe, okay?’</p>
<p>‘Yeah, you too, Dana. Thank you for having us,’ he pulled away with a nod and made his way to the door, gathering his family as he went. As those who were staying spilled out onto the porch after them, calls of farewell and well-wishes were deadened by the snow that muffled everything.</p>
<p>They waited for the car to disappear down the drive before Charlie and Dan slung an arm over each of Dana’s shoulders, ‘ah, bliss, the house all to ourselves again.’</p>
<p>‘Yeah, just the ten of us,’ Dan sighed wistfully as she snorted.</p>
<p>‘When is it you guys are leaving?’ she asked as they headed back inside.</p>
<p>‘January first,’ her brother grinned with a smug look on his face.</p>
<p>‘Ugh, such a long time away.’</p>
<p>‘Ah, you love having us here really.’</p>
<p>She grew serious, nodded, ‘I do. Or, at least, I miss you when you’re gone.’</p>
<p>Dan grinned, pulled her in for a sideways hug as she linked hands with Mulder on her other side, ‘ahh, that’s our Dana – always a caveat.’</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I love Charlie, Dan and their hoard of kids so much. I will protect them 'til the day I die. And they in turn will protect Scully. And they have a great relationship with both Mulder and Scully. Fight me.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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